Why am I Writing About Puzzles?
We have all seen a Rubik’s Cube whether it was in the toy section at a retail store on their toy shelves, the office on someone’s desk, or even introduced by a friend. In my case, I had my first interactions with brain teasers when I was in my early teens, including the Rubik’s Cube, though I often disregarded it as ‘too difficult and time consuming’ after failing to solve. For a while, I was satisfied leaving the cube solving to the crazy nerds and people that had too much time on their hands. Until the day I stumbled upon a cube at work, decided I had some spare time on my hand, and I wanted something to do while I was taking phone calls.
Since then, I have solved a variety of cubes and related puzzles. It is a rabbit hole… You solve one, then you solve it again, and again, and again. There becomes a point where you yearn for that excitement of solving the cube for the first time, that is where you find the 2×2, 4×4, 5×5 cube. Whether it is borrowed, found, or bought, you will spend hours consumed by the new challenge, until you complete it yet again. What was once a daunting challenge, an impossible task even, is now one of my favorite pastimes.
I will be walking you through the History of the Rubik’s Cube, as well as the other puzzles I solve alongside it. After that I will focus on the impact it has had on myself as well as others, what it has taught me about problem-solving. I will then follow up with some tips to solve your first cube, with a video on how to solve a 3×3 cube. Afterwards, I have a reflection on this crazy rabbit hole I have fallen into.
In consideration of my viewers, the History of Rubik’s Cube and History of Other Related Puzzles sections will be collapsible that way you can skip over if you choose.
The History of the Rubik’s Cube is rather simple: Idea, Success, and More Success.
In 1975, Ernő Rubik applied for a patent (image included below) for the original 3×3 Magic Cube. You heard that right, Magic Cube, was the original name for Rubik’s Cube. From there the toy company Ideal helped spread Rubik’s toy across the world. In 1980, the toy was finally worldwide… and it won Toy of the Year Award, by 1982 over one hundred million cubes had sold.1
As of 2026, you can head to your local retail store, toy store, or mall to find plenty of Rubik’s branded products including the original 3×3, a statement that this puzzle will stand the test of time. What else is found in the same aisle? Other related puzzles? You can read about the history of their successes in the next section!
Following Rubik’s global success with his Magic Cube, later dubbed the Rubik’s Cube, toymakers proceeded to look into what they could do to catch on to the trend. As multiple shapes and sizes of solvable puzzles started to appear, they took off instantly. The Rubik’s Revenge 4×4 cube stood out among the rest, an obvious step up from 3×3, is to step up to 4×4. Interestingly enough, Ernő Rubik did not come up with the 4×4, but he allowed his name to be used in the product as a way to entice the worldwide Rubik’s Cube audience into a new puzzle.1
Another notable puzzle was the Pyraminx, which was created by Uwe Mèffert in the 1970’s, before Rubik’s Cube, was introduced to the world in 1980’s after Rubik’s success with his 3×3 toy. Mèffert went to a Japanese toymaker and got his toy circulating globally with 90 million sold Pyraminx puzzles in the first 3 years of its release.1
With the Rubik’s Revenge and Pyraminx succeeding in the toy industry, new puzzles kept emerging and bring us to where we are today, with plenty of choices when looking at these puzzles, and many more on the way!
Impact of Puzzles on The Brain:
Puzzles like the Rubik’s Cube are often viewed as ways to improve our brain health physically. Contrary to popular belief, these puzzles actually do not impact the overall decline in our brains as we age. In an interview, Dr. Toby Wise, Senior Research Fellow in Neuroimaging at King’s College London, mentions, “Solving these challenges does not improve your brain power in much other than the activity itself and almost certainly does not prevent age-related decline in brain function.” As depressing as this may sound to my friends and I that spend so much time solving cubes, as we wish that it could make us genius forever, it just emphasizes that life is something you can only prolong so long, we must make the best of the time we do have.2
I would like to mention that I am not saying that cube solving has a negative impact on brain health, but that the rumors we hear about these puzzles may not all be true. These cubes still have had a positive impact on me, but that is more in how it impacts our problem-solving skills, which is included in the next section!
The Psychology of Cube Solving:
The impact of Rubik’s Cubes as well as other brain teasers and puzzles impact how we think about problem solving in our lives, not just in puzzles, but in real life obstacles. If you look at solving a Rubik’s Cube (or similar puzzle) at its core, you are breaking down a problem into simpler, manageable steps. This is often something that could benefit us to take into real world problems we encounter. As obvious as it sounds, the more you practice breaking big problems into smaller problems, the easier things get. An example of this would be, I learned how to solve a 3×3 cube, but the 5×5 looks daunting and huge, but if I really start working with it, I realize it solves the same way, I just have to break it into smaller simpler pieces. When building a PC, one does not simply build it in one step, but many smaller steps that help bring all the components into one box that later runs videogames and lets me complete my homework. These puzzles are just another way to exercise these problem-solving skills.
Whether it is the original 3×3 Rubik’s Cube or Sudoku, puzzle solving can have a very positive impact on how you approach problem management and problem-solving. Now you may be wondering how you can get involved in cube solving, conveniently enough, I wrote about that in the next section!
How to Start Solving:
How do you start solving a cube puzzle, like the 3×3 Rubik’s cube? Simple, use the resources available to you, be patient, and learn from your mistakes. I embedded a YouTube video from the official Rubik’s account explaining how to solve a 3×3 cube. While this video is a whopping 24ish minutes in length, it is comprehensive and covers the steps needed to complete your first time solving!3
I will be the first to admit that I could not sit down and watch a video on how to solve something, I would have to give it a try and fail a multitude of times first, then look for ways other people have solved it online and go from there. For those who prefer written instructional guides, I am in the same category, and here is the guide I used to learn how to solve my first 3×3 cube: How to solve a Rubik’s cube | Step by Step Beginner Instructions + VID.4 I highly recommend you start with the 3×3, but of course, feel free to start with whichever cube or shape you would like. It is a good time, and well worth the investment of time and energy.
A Reflection on Cube Solving:
Overall, I am glad I am able to share with you all the positive impact that cube solving has had on my life, as well as the interesting history of the Rubik’s Cube and its related puzzles. The current challenge I recently overcame was the Axis Cube, which is similar to a regular 3×3, except it is put on a different axis, as the name foretells. That cube had me feeling nauseous so many times, due to my inability to understand how it functioned. After three long months, I solved the Axis Cube for good.
For those of you wondering, I think my next challenge needs to be the 21×21 cube by MoYu, which unfortunately even split between me and my friends would be an improbable amount of cash to spend on this masterful display of modern engineering.5
Thanks for reading about something I found interesting this week, the idea about writing about Rubik’s Cube and similar puzzles was inspired by a friend of mine who saw me finally solve the Axis Cube while brainstorming/spit-balling ideas to write about. I added a suggestion box below, if there were something you would like to see me write about, please let me know below.
Thanks for reading my blog and I look forward to hearing back from you!
~ Andrew McGarvie
References:
- History of the Rubik’s Cube puzzle game. (n.d.). https://ruwix.com/the-rubiks-cube/history-rubiks-cube/
- Coppini, F. (2024, December 27). Puzzles and the brain: What science says about solving your way to sharper thinking. Rapusia Blog. https://blog.rapusia.org/health/2692/puzzles-and-the-brain-what-science-says-about-solving-your-way-to-sharper-thinking/
- Rubik’s. (2020, July 20). How to solve a Rubik’s cube | Full tutorial [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrSOC_o-Fds
- How to solve a Rubik’s cube | Step by Step Beginner Instructions + VID. (n.d.). SPEEDCUBE.COM.AU. https://www.speedcube.us/pages/how-to-solve-a-rubiks-cube?shpxid=a68743ad-59c1-45db-9c2c-0a04df63a22d
- MoYu 21×21. (n.d.). TheCubicle. https://www.thecubicle.com/products/moyu-21×21
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